Ranch Wanderings

I thought it'd be fun (for my Utah readers, at least) for me to start sharing more pics from around the ranch. So that's what this post is all about. I hope you enjoy!

This first pic is actually from a few weeks ago. Jared got home just after sunset and noticed an odd silhouette on the top of one of the haystacks.

Not sure how this guy got up there, but he did...

Hello, Mr. Porcupine!

This next pic is from New Year's Eve. Jared and his family built a pretty sweet cabin two summers ago, so for New Year's we all piled on the snowmobiles and headed up the mountain to spend a day at the cabin. After riding around the ranch with Jared on the 4wheeler and snowmobile these last couple weeks, I knew I needed to bundle up as much as I could to avoid a painfully freezing ride.

We all had a great time despite the crazy winds. And I was reminded yet again, that getting on the back of a snowmobile with Jared is a really bad idea. I don't think I've prayed so hard for my safety in all my life. Had there been a recording of our adventure, you would have heard something like, "oh crap....oh crap....oh crap....OH $#%!!!...holy cow...holy cow...yikes!!....I don't think you're making very wise choices!!....ahhhh!!!" the whole entire time.

Not that I'm a wimp or anything.

The next couple pics are from breaking ice. We noticed tons of beetles frozen in the ice at one of the holes we chopped out, and when we pulled the ice out, we noticed a bunch more beetles swimming around in the water. As Jared was watching them, he noticed even more creatures below the ice. I wouldn't have known what they were had Jared not told me. Salamanders - or mud puppies to be precise. There were at least a dozen of them right there at the hole. I asked Jared if we could take some home but I guess he didn't think I was serious.

And last but certainly not least, the rest of the pics are from my wanderings around the ranch yesterday afternoon. These are shots from up and down our lane. When I got back to the house, I noticed we had four visitors. I'm not really sure why, but they ran away when they saw me coming.
Bunch of chickens...errr....uhhh.....wait...

That's it. That's all I've got.